Tag: absolute write

SCBWI or Bust

We are on a countdown here, people. Seven days until SCBWI in LA. For the last year, I’ve made numerous friends in the online world through Twitter and the AW forums. Sometimes I feel like my entire life is happening online. I’ve had way too many awkward moments when I was telling a co-worker/sister/IRL friend “Well, Kate said this…” and then “Dawn said this…” after which my co-worker/sister/IRL friend says “Who are these people you’re talking about?” And then I hang my head in shame because I feel like I’m a ten-year-old who’s just admitted to having imaginary friends. Or being a closet World of Warcraft/Dungeons & Dragons player. Completely geektastic.

But all of that is changing. I’ve met Dawn in person, thank you. And we had drinks with Kirsten. And now, on Thursday, July 29, there are 20+ of us meeting at the SCBWI National Conference.

And I pray that the awkward greetings pass quickly. That the people I’ve had deep and meaningful conversations (frequently about RPatz’s sparkly manchest or my mad Photoshop skills), when confronted by my utter silliness and snarky idea of humor,  will like me just as much in person. Kate and I have joked about this a number of times, but I’m not sure if she knows I’m 89.9% serious. It’s so much easier to be myself online. In person, I can be kind of like a cat – quick to love you if we hit it off and standoffish if I think you might step on my tail. Which is an odd comparison because I think cats are evil and frequently share how they will eat you if you die alone. True story.

Proof cats are EVIL

Are any of you nervous about meeting in person?

Moving Day

Welcome to my new home!

I’ve spent the last two days making the hike from wordpress.com to my new blog housed at www.corrinejackson.com. This process was every bit as painful as you can imagine it was*. My reasons for making the move had a lot to do with my plans for marketing myself and my work. I work in marketing, and I’ve done a lot of thinking about how to market myself now and in the future. WordPress.com didn’t provide the level of customization I needed to grow my blog. It didn’t fit me, and I realized there is a connection between planning to market yourself and making a big move. Here are some moving day/self-marketing tips.

1. Make a list. A move can be intimidating when you think of all you have to do and know there are probably thirty things you won’t remember to do. Marketing yourself can feel the same if you don’t know where to begin. Twitter, forums like Absolute Write (AW), blogs, Facebook, and similar tools exist. You need to make a list, and think about which of these avenues fit your lifestyle because you can spread yourself thin trying to do all of them. A blog is the best tool to get your name out there, but it requires a lot of upkeep to keep an audience. Can you make that time commitment? Decide what’s important to you and focus your efforts there.
2. Have plenty of supplies. To pack up a home, you need boxes and tape. To build up an audience, you need content. In case you missed that, YOU NEED CONTENT. How many times have you heard bloggers asking for topic ideas? It’s hard to come up with new ideas, especially when there are hundreds of other writers out there writing about the same topics. It’s even harder when you need to post on a Monday and can’t think of a thing to talk about. Strategize. Develop a pool of ideas to blog or tweet about. You’ll appreciate having these in your back pocket when the well runs dry.
3. Color coordinate. Color coding boxes by room can help you find your belongings a lot sooner in a new home. Your online presence works the same way. If you use one user name on a forum, another user name on Twitter, and then blog under your own name, you are doing yourself a disservice. While some people may want to maintain the privacy of a user name, there are advantages to working under one name. You may even want to use the same avatar/picture and theme so people can begin to recognize your online presence by the look and feel of the site they are experience. This is Branding 101. BTW, I hereby admit I did not follow this advice because I didn’t plan ahead. I am hereby working on it.
4. Pack ahead. In a move, the more work you can get done before moving day, the easier your moving day will be. The same can be said for planning your marketing strategies ahead of your book contract or even signing with an agent. Agents and editors are savvy. They look to see if you have an online presence before they sign you. Decide now how you want to present yourself to the public. This can be a difficult thing to figure out. It’s why companies spend thousands of dollars researching how consumers feel about a logo tagline. Branding is important, and so is your public image.
5. Have friends to help with the heavy lifting. Most of you know a moving day can go a lot faster with the help of friends willing to work for pizza. Self-marketing is 90% networking with other writers, agents, and editors. Now, I often feel shy about approaching people, but I’ve made a lot of friends on Twitter and AW. When my blog was born, my AW friends became my first readers. They linked to my blog, and their readers became my readers. See how this works? I know when my book is published, those same AW friends will be my first reviewers. Networking is a slow process so begin now.

Remember, it’s never too early to start getting your name out there. When your book sells, you’ll want to have a fan base willing to help you spread the word. We like to refer to these people as brand advocates in marketing speak.

*I’m still working on a few clean ups. I lost my categories and tags for old posts so be patient with me while I fix the problem.

Tough Love for Writers

December was a dark month in my life. Behind on my schoolwork, my responsibilities, my life, I felt like my writing had no direction and no hope of getting published. Agents had requested my full, but as time went by without a response I let doubt sink in. This niggling, pervasive doubt said, “You’ll never make it,” and I started to believe it. A horrible thing happened: I sabotaged myself.

I see it every day on the AW boards and Twitter. A rejection comes in, and a writer thinks about quitting, no longer sure this dream is worth balancing on the edge of heartache every day. Like those other dejected writers, I couldn’t write, couldn’t think, couldn’t find the joy I had when I was writing my novel. If you can relate to me at all, here’s where I tell you something you may not want to hear.

It was my own damned fault. I let the querying and the quest for publication overtake my love of spinning stories. I did that. Not the agents who rejected me, or the ones who were too busy to get back to me on my timeline. The stories didn’t go away. My confidence in my ability to tell them did.

When you are writing, the experience belongs to you. The exhilaration and obsession and frenzy to put words to screen: All yours. The experience of reading the finished work belongs to others, but you have sole and proprietary custody of the rest. Shame on you and shame on me for giving that away to others.

You might think it’s easy for me to say this now that I have an agent. Not true. My family knew my self-doubt had reached an all-time low when I went home for Christmas and basically cried for a week. My brother-in-law – a very talented musician – knows all about dreams that don’t come true. For Christmas, he had two copies of my book bound in secret – one for me and one for my greatest fan, my sister. Then he delivered me a solid lecture about having a little faith and remembering that my accomplishments are not measured on anyone’s scale but my own. Wise man and a lot of tough love.

I didn’t rediscover hope like I was in a Hallmark special. I went home, opened my new WIP and made myself write, even though it felt like pulling impacted wisdom teeth. And damn it if he wasn’t right. As soon as I let go and started writing, the worry about the queries and all the rest faded. I didn’t give up on my dream of getting published, but I let another one take higher precedence: a dream that I could fall in love with words like I had before. And then I wrote some lines that shocked me with how right and perfect they were, and I sighed, “There it is. There’s that feeling again.”

Two weeks later, I got an offer.

My friend, Kate, called me a “zen princess” recently. The truth is I’ve discovered that being a writer is like taking an upper followed by a downer and then repeat. I’m going to do my best to hold on to the joy where I can in this process. And when I begin to doubt myself, or give away what’s mine, I’m going to hope my brother-in-law delivers another swift kick to set me to rights.

Querying: Where to Begin?

You wrote a novel, and you made revisions. You had beta readers, and you made revisions. You went to a workshop, and you made revisions. You’ve polished your piece to be the best you can possibly make it. Now what? I get this question a lot from writers who have no idea what the whole querying process entails. Here are some basic tips to help guide the uninitiated.

1. Write a rocking query letter. This letter is your introduction to agents and includes a short summary of your work. You get one page to draw the attention of the elusive agent. You will spend hours crafting this one-page Times New Roman nightmare. Lucky for you, several agents have been kind enough to post their guides to writing query letters, including Nathan Bransford, Kristin Nelson, and Janet Reid. Peruse their blogs for tips. I’ve also included my query letter here as an example, along with the tips an agent offered to make my specific letter better.
2. Have other proof your rocking query letter. After you’ve drafted your query letter, you might want to post it to the Absolute Write Share Your Work forums to have it critiqued, or have a good friend (who is grammar-wise) proof it for you. You will find that you are constantly tweaking that letter to make it better. Continue to proof it with each tweak. Tweak. Proof. Repeat. [Did you catch that I left the “s” off of “others” in this heading? You might not catch it on your own work either.]
3. Research agents. There are hundreds of agents out there. How do you possibly figure out who to send your work to and who would be a right fit? Here’s what I did. I went to Querytracker.net and looked up authors in my genre. Those agents went on my to-query list. I visited their PublishersMarketplace and AgentQuery pages to see who they repped and their record of sales. I also checked the Absolute Write Bewares and Backgrounds Checks forum to see if authors had issues with any of these agents, like scam agents who charge writers to read their work. After all that, if the agents fit my criteria, they went on my to-query list. This process takes HOURS, but it’s important. This person will have your career in their hands, and you want to make the right decision.
4. Research specific agent query requests. Don’t send a query until you know if the agent wants a query letter or a query letter plus the first ten pages of your book. Every agent has different criteria. Know what they are.
5. Address your query properly. This is by far one of the biggest pet peeves agents seem to have and an easy mistake to make. Make sure you have not sent a request for Ms. X to Mr. Y. This screams unprofessionalism, and your query may be deleted immediately. I can’t say I blame the agents, so check the address and salutation before you hit the send button.
6. Be organized. It’s important to keep track of your submissions. Know who you’ve sent query letters to and record who you’ve heard back from. You don’t want to bother an agent with a query follow up if they’ve already rejected you. It makes you look unprofessional. I used Querytracker to organize my queries, but a lot of people use tables in Word or Excel. Whatever your method, stick to it.
7. Wait. This is the hardest part. You will hear querying authors wail about this. Sometimes an agent responds in five minutes and sometimes they respond in five months. There is no norm. Rejections may flood in, and you may begin to feel despondent. During this time, you should get going on a new work. Don’t let your life revolve around your gmail. Trust me. I speak from experience.
8. What to do with a rejection. Chalk it up and move on. Nine times out of ten, you will get a form rejection. Agents get hundreds of queries a day sometimes. IF they take the time to give you personal feedback, show some class and thank them. This applies to every step from here on out.
9. Partial Request. If an agent writes back and requests a partial, they will tell you what to send. It may be the first 30 or 50 pages, or even the first three chapters. Pay attention to their request. If they read your partial and don’t think it fits them, they may reject you. If they like your partial, the agent may ask you for a full. This whole process can take months, so be patient.
10. Full Request. This is the mecca of querying. You may get a full just from a query or it may come after a partial. Either way, it’s exciting and your heart beats fast and you’re thinking OhmygoshohmygoshIcouldgetpublished. Slow down. You may be one of 50 fulls that the agent requested of which they may make only two offers. Celebrate the victory (because it is a victory), but KEEP WORKING. More months may pass while the agent responds to their fulls. If you don’t get an offer for your work, you want to have something new to start querying.

Now, if you are lucky enough to get an offer after all of this, trust me on this – you will put Ochocinco’s endzone celebrations to shame.

AW December Blog Chain Theme: 2009 Wrap-up

Okay, this month the AW group voted to do the December Blog chain on a general wrap-up of our writing goals in 2009. Since I’ve been blogging on my writing all year I feel like I’m bludgeoning my readers with a spork. Also, I’m not the greatest at setting long term goals. I set a goal, something shiny distracts me, and then I feel like a failure for not achieving my goal. Although, I can hands down take anyone when it comes to making a list I will never look at twice or color coding an Excel spreadsheet. Therefore, I intend to take a left in Eureka and write about where I ended up this year, goal-less and with a hellish lot to show for it.

1. Wrote an Entire Damn Novel in 4 months – I said I wouldn’t write about writing. I lied. That feeling you’re experiencing? It’s betrayal. You should really work on that. While you read my novel. About a girl who’s betrayed by everyone she cares about. See what I did there? That’s cause I’m a WRITER.
2. T-boning a Woman Doing 60 and Walking Away from the Wreckage – Let’s be clear – so her fault and not mine. She panicked and came at the barrier across four lanes of freeway. I slammed the breaks and got a mouthful of airbag for my effort. My poor Ford Focus died heroically saving my life. R.I.P., poor baby.
3. Walking the Ramparts Alone at 3:00 AM at Mont St. Michel While Listening to the Tide Come In Around Me– By far the most amazing place I’ve ever been. When I was thirteen, I begged my mom for this 3D puzzle of a castle that turned out to be the Abbey at Mont St. Michel in France. I know, you’re thinking “Hello, Nerd.” Before you cast that stone, I ask you to look in the mirror. I’ll wait… Now that you’ve realized we’re kindred spirits, I can tell you how black the night was without city lights, how the wind ran through me and over the stone streets, and I just knew that same breeze had caressed another woman hundreds of years ago. But don’t be fooled by the savory crepes. They were not, in fact, savory.
4. “I’m YA, and I’m OK” – I intended to write SERIOUS fiction. You know, LITERATURE. Instead, I ended up writing about a teenager. This means (a) I’m not grown up at all despite my age or (b) YA Literature is some of the best literature out there right now. The answer is so obviously (b), and I belong to that genre since I write SERIOUS LITERATURE. Like Dickens. Who wrote for the entire family, including the young adults. Yeah, just try and argue with Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. I’ll sit over here and quietly gloat.
5. A Family Roadtrip – My family is a bit like Gossip Girls without the designer clothes, the money, New York, or vapid teenagers, which technically means we’re nothing like Gossip Girls. (Note to self: Don’t use that analogy again.) So, my family is a bit like UCLA and USC football. Someone is always hatin’ on someone else or stealing our family mascot – a ceramic cow my mother gave me, but that’s another story. Anyway, a ceasefire was recently called, and one of my brothers and my sister drove from Los Angeles to San Francisco in my convertible with the sun beaming down on us and the wind blowing our hair back dramatically. Well, that’s what it was like for my sister and I. My bald brother drove the U-haul with all of my crap, and we frequently pulled up next to him to mock him with our blistered glowing skin and snarled blowy hair. Yeah, you wish you rode with us!
6. I Frickin’ HEART San Francisco – I love my studio apartment with its hardwood floors, giant bay windows, and steam heat that sounds a lot like my brothers after eating chili. I love my 24-hour Starbucks and driving my car down curvy, switchback Lombard Street. Mostly, I love driving through the Presidio with the top down (the car, not me) and Nick Drake singing “Pink Moon” like I’m living in that VW commercial. You know, this one. Except it’s better cause I’m in a MINI.
7. Earned Two Free Rewards Tickets on Southwest – I travel a lot, mostly for work. This year I flew to San Francisco three times, Los Angeles three times, Seattle twice, San Antonio once, plus Paris, Amsterdam, and Barcelona. I’ve learned I love John Wayne Airport and Southwest flight attendants who tell you in the event of an emergency water landing put your head between your knees and kiss your butt goodbye. And I hate sitting in airports for hours on end, getting charged for wireless internet, and idiots who continue to talk on their phones preventing the damn plane from taking off. I see your guilty blush, making you resemble an older Bella from Twilight. Feel my wrath.
8. Paris and Barcelona, Oh My! – Paris is NOT like Amelie, and Barcelona is full of pickpockets. The Mona Lisa is tiny, and Gaudi was an insane, brilliant man. People in Europe drink less. At least in my experience since I was basically dehydrated for three weeks due to 6 ounce glasses of water served over a two-hour meal. That, or they’re trying to kill off Americans one at a time but depriving us of liquids. Oh, and I hated most of the food, but I saw so many amazing things my eyes glazed over and I scared the locals with my glassy stare. Maybe that’s why they didn’t give me water. Also, I got to speak the little bit of French I know and felt insulted when I was somehow NOT mistaken for a local. Whatever. The most majestic sunset award goes to Paris. The best meal I had in Europe? Indian food in Barcelona. Go figure.

Come to think of it, this was a really jam-packed year. Good thing I don’t make a lot of plans. I hope this teaches you obsessive planners a lesson.

PARTICIPANTS
bsolah – http://benjaminsolah.com/blog
DavidZahir – http://zahirblue.blogspot.com/
RavenCorinnCarluk – http://ravencorinncarluk.blogspot.com
Ralph Pines – http://ralfast.wordpress.com/
shethinkstoomuch – http://shethinkstoomuch.wordpress.com
Lady Cat – http://www.randomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.com
truelyana – http://expressiveworld.com
misaditas – http://misaditas-novels.blogspot.com/
laharrison – http://lesleyharrison.wordpress.com/
beawhiz – http://beawrites.wordpress.com
razibahmed – http://www.blogging37.com
FreshHell – http://freshhell.wordpress.com
AlissaC – http://alissacarleton.blogspot.com

Tweet, Tweet: A Writer’s Love Affair with Social Media

I work in marketing. Day in and day out, I live and breathe advertising, promotions, and social media. Many companies are weighing in on the benefit of using Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and other online methods to spread the love about the products/services. I believe in the power of social media as a marketer. As a consumer, though, I didn’t want to be a lemming jumping on the latest bandwagon. Personally, I like to feel superior to the lemmings because I would never (gasp!) be on trend. That’s right. I’m original. (I say this in between talking on my totally unique, one-of-a-kind iphone in my leggings and boots. Nope. Nobody else in the world is doing that. And if you are, stop copying me.)

I have been known to mock people who spend their free time on forums (get some friends, losers). I blacklist anyone who seeds me a hug or Easter Egg Hunt via Facebook. And don’t get me started on those self-important people who tweet about getting a Diet Coke from McDonalds (we know you also got a large fries and a Big Mac. You’re not fooling anyone!).

And then, I finished my novel and twiddled my thumbs not knowing what to do next. Thankfully, I found a virtual community to help provide guidance. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the online masses converted me from an original I-turn-my-nose-up-at-following-trends to hi-my-name-is-Cory-can-I-join-your-club?. Insert mockery here.

1. I’m on Facebook – I still ferociously hate people who send me apps (you know who you are). Do not even think about asking me to play Farmville or Mafia Wars. I’m also not sure it’s the best idea in the world to reconnect with those who knew me as a cheerleader in high school. Still, it’s a great way to spread the news about your writing and befriend anyone who is willing to listen to find out Cory is: (a) sick, (b) tired, or (c) sick and tired of being asked to take a quiz because 6 of my other friends did.
2. I blog – What’s not to love? Insta-feedback on my writing via Teaser Tuesdays. Sharing what I’ve learned about craft with other writers through red marks my professors leave on my pages. WordPress stats that feed my obsessive need to know how many people are visiting me on a daily basis (love me, love me, love me!).
3. I read blogs – Reading the Teaser Tuesdays of other writers and their writing tips can only help my writing to grow. See? I’m at least a millimeter taller.
4. I chat on forums – Really, I abuse the other AWers with my version of humor. Amongst all the LOLs and Twilight jokes, we sometimes manage to offer each other encouragement and loving criticism.
5. I tweet – This one wasn’t even on my radar. Only needy, narcissistic people tweet. Lesson #87 of the week: I’m needy and narcissistic. Who knew? Personality disorders aside, I’ve also learned that agents, editors, and writers galore are out there offering invaluable tips on the world of publishing. Plus it’s another way to spread the abuse to my fellow AWers.

Please excuse me now while I update my FB status, check my blog stats, read the AWer blogs, wreak havoc in the forums, and then stalk my friends on Twitter.

*Runs off to make a tee emblazoned with “I’m an original @Lemming. Follow me.”*

BTW: If you just looked up that address on Twitter and it exists, it’s not me and you are probably one of those people who send me Facebook apps. Stop it. Seriously.

10 Things I Am Thankful For

A Thanksgiving meme borrowed from my AWer buddy, Kate. The rules? List ten things you are grateful for, but every even numbered item must be about writing in some way.

1. My Four Fathers (not to be confused with forefathers). Without them, I would not be me. Nor would every work I write have a running rant about fathers. Or a girl who is afraid to love/has abandonment issues/is fiercely independent/needs therapy.
2. iTunes Genius. Seriously. An insta-playlist that creates an insta-mood for whatever scene I’m writing. The rubber on my second set of earbuds has disintegrated from overuse.
3. My Sister. Who else would listen to me whine? Who else would take me on a tour of every TJ Maxx and Marshalls between Redondo Beach and Palm Springs? Who else would tear the lace off my shorts without asking and then tell me to get over it already? Who else would love me and encourage me and threaten me when I need it? My friends, that’s who. But not one of them could make me laugh like my sister does. – Even though she’s older and stole my “baby of the family” thunder, or as I tell her, she “stole my sunshine.” And then I rub in that I have blue eyes and she has brown and she fumes with jealousy. Deal with it, Sis! – Who else has that kind of shared history with me? And who else would have four kids just cuz I love being an Auntie? (at least that’s what I tell her).
4. Querytracker.net. The insanity tamed by tables and charts.
5. My Million Nieces and Nephews. They keep me grounded in things like Spongebob and iCarly, and their dreams inspire me to have ones of my own. Damn right I can sing the entire Spongebob theme song.
6. AW Forums. My fellow writers keep me sane and the Bewares and Background Checks for Agents keep me smart. SNI stands for Shiny New Idea, and hell, no, I’m not paying an agent to read my manuscript! < — See what I learned.
7. My New Asthma Doctor. Funny how we take breathing for granted. Huzzah! My lungs work again! *tackles San Francisco hills* I can so take you now!
8. Dr. Irena Praitis. My grad advisor in my Master’s program. Second week of school in her poetry workshop, shy little me proceeded to announce how much I hated poetry. Two weeks later I wrote my first sonnet. A year later I had a scholarship to the West Chester Poetry Conference and received honors for a Master’s Project that included a sonnet redoublee. Don’t know what a sonnet redoublee is? Look it up, and be very afraid.
9. Starbucks. You bring me together with my friends. You are the starting point for outings with my sister. You are the maker of the bottled Frappacino that my mother buys for our camping outings, while shaking her head at our ridiculous need for you. You are the place I write and procrastinate and write. You are the keeper of the Caramel Brulee latte. I frickin’ HEART you.
10. Beta readers. Where, oh where, would I be without your taunts, LOLs, rusted-bloody-box-cutter criticisms, and encouragement? Probably huddling in a corner rocking. Or sticking my fingers in my ears and squeezing my eyes shut to avoid editing.

Tag! You’re it! Oh, wait! Kate tagged everyone already. Damn you, Kate!

Teaser Tuesday

After much debate and advice from fellow AWers, I’ve decided to post tidbits of my novel, TOUCHED, on my blog for your reading pleasure. I believe in this work and believe it will get published. I’ve just sent my edited manuscript out to the agents who requested it. I’ve had a great response from my beta readers and those same agents (Could there be a greater compliment to a writer than readers who stay up to the wee hours because they can’t put your book down?) Keep your fingers crossed for me, and I hope you enjoy reading this excerpt from Chapter One of TOUCHED as much as I loved laboring over it.

*Removed so as not to spoil things for my readers*

September Book Review Blog Chain

This month I’m participating in the Absolute Write Book Review Blog Chain. We each pick a favorite book to review and share with the world. I’d like to introduce you to a particular favorite of mine – The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

The novel follows literary detective Thursday Next as she investigates the kidnapping of fictional character, Jane Eyre, from her novel by Hades of Greek mythology. In the novel’s world, England is a police state, the Crimean War has lasted for more than a century, literary characters can escape from their novels, and the endings of books can be changed.

First off, Jane Eyre is a favorite novel of mine, so I loved going on an adventure through the novel and seeing what happens when the characters in the novel are “off page.” The book is full of clever plays on literary devices and English-major insider jokes. For instance, audiences at Shakespeare plays continually toss fruit at the stage to protest his authorship.

The world itself is so clever I’m jealous I didn’t come up with it. Thursday’s pet is a dodo, Pickwick, who has been brought back from extinction through cloning, but is stupid as ever. Time travel is possible, and werewolves exist. You’ll discover that there are infinite alternate endings to books!

I also highly recommend the sequel, Lost in a Good Book!

August AW Blog Chain

(Note: It’s been several days since my last post. That is due to my move on Saturday from Orange County to San Francisco. I’m all settled in now so my posts are back on track!)

This month, I am participating in the August Blog Chain from the Absolute Write forums. Here is my question from Forbidden Snowflake:

I noticed you’ve got a Novel Soundtrack. How much has music influenced your writing? Do you first chose the songs and then write while listening to them? Or do you put the Soundtrack together later? Also, do you have different playlists for different moods? Does music ever bother you while writing?

Music is a huge influence on my mood while I’m writing and a must. I’d almost venture to say that it is difficult for me to write without music. I wouldn’t say that I necessarily listen to the words while I’m tapping away at the keyboard, but the cadence of the songs playing through my headphones definitely put me in a creative space.

The music I’m listening to tends to change over the course of the writing. For TOUCHED, I started out listening to a lot of Tyrone Wells. I discovered him on Pandora, then saw him in concert at the House of Blues back in January. His voice had a soothing, gorgeous quality that reminded me of my main character, Asher. Eventually, my soundtrack evolved to what you see on my blog. These are the songs I listened to the most, and I’m pleased that a lot of the lyrics actually fit my storyline. The arrangement of songs was definitely done after the story was complete.

The greatest invention I’ve discovered this year is the Genius feature in iTunes. You select a song in your library that fits the mood you’re in, hit the Genius button, and a playlist is created of similar songs from your library. The result is a fluid playlist that changes with my mood. If I’m writing an action scene, I click on a song by Nickelback or Red Hot Chili Peppers and end up with a list of fast-paced songs. If I’m writing a tender scene, I click on Tyrone Wells’s “Sea Breeze” and get a mellow mix of songs. No arranging necessary! I think this – along with the ability to google faces for my characters – is an incredible tool for writers.

Be sure to check out the next blog!

My question for Angyl78: You mention miracles in multiple posts on your blog. What constitutes a miracle to you, and do you plan to factor this into your writing?

The participating blogs in Absolute Write August 2009 Blog Chain are:

Claire Crossdale http://theromanticqueryletter.blogspot.com
razibahmed http://www.blogging37.com/
aimeelaine http://www.aimeelaine.com/
bsolah http://benjaminsolah.com/blog
dnic http://four-lettered-words.blogspot.com/
JamieMT http://thevarietypages.blogspot.com
LiliCray http://mutteringsofascribe.blogspot.com
ealexis http://eviealextheobsessivewriter.blogspot.com/
errantruth http://www.sputnitsa.wordpress.com
Lady Cat http://randomwriterlythoughts.blogspot.com
Proach http://desinfocenter.blogspot.com/
Simran http://dark-horse-adaptations.blogspot.com
lostwanderer5 http://www.lostwanderer5.blogspot.com
Forbidden Snowflake http://www.alleslinks.com
coryleslie http://corrinejackson.wordpress.com/
Angyl78 http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/
Bookdragonette http://pannarrans.wordpress.com/
RavenCorinnCarluk http://ravencorinncarluk.blogspot.com